"I'm postponing it because I don't feel like a G7, it probably represents what's going on in the world. It's a group of countries very overwhelmed," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday .
The G7 includes the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Japan.
White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah said the president wanted to associate other traditional allies, including the Five Eyes countries, as well as those affected by the coronavirus, and talk about the future of China .
The President had recently stated that he planned to host the G7 in person next month, but he had to face a mixed and uncertain response from other G7 leaders regarding his participation in the summit in person amid the pandemic.
"The chancellor thanks President Trump for his invitation to the G7 summit in Washington in late June," said Merkel's spokesperson in a statement.
"To date, given the global pandemic situation, she cannot confirm her personal participation, that is to say a trip to Washington," added the spokesman.
Other world leaders have also been wary of the Trump-sponsored G7 summit.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that he could not yet make a commitment to attend the proposed G7 meeting in person due to concerns about the transmission of the virus and Canada's quarantine rules.
"There are important health concerns that we have around keeping it in person, but there is no doubt that a face-to-face meeting in an ideal situation is much more effective than even virtual meetings," he said. he says.
French President Emmanuel Macron met with Trump on Thursday. The two leaders "agreed on the importance of convening the G7 in person in the near future," according to a White House reading of the appeal. But the White House did not say whether Macron had committed to attend in person.
CNN's Nadine Schmidt, Laura Smith-Spark, Paula Newton, Kevin Liptak and Nikki Carvajal contributed to this report.
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